This creamy delicious butterscotch shake is the perfect sweet treat for breakfast, brunch or lunch. It gets its flavor from a homemade butterscotch sauce and comes together in no time. You can substitute frozen yogurt or sliced banana for the ice cream. So good!

Butterscotch milkshake in a tall glass with whipped cream and a red and white straw

We're on a milkshake and smoothie kick at my house, and I'm not complaining one bit. This delicious butterscotch shake makes excellent use of any extra butterscotch sauce that you might have leftover from these butterscotch pancakes. Have you tried them yet? They're tasty and divine and definitely worth the little bit of extra work to make the homemade butterscotch sauce. The pre-made butterscotch sauce that you buy in the store as an ice cream topping is loaded with preservatives. Who needs to put those in their body?

I admit that this may be venturing a bit into dessert territory, but it's a great thing to put on your brunch menu as a sweet treat for your guests. You can always sub in frozen yogurt for the ice cream to make it more breakfast-like. 😉

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🥤 Ingredients
📝 Instructions
🥄 Equipment
💡 Variations
🔖 Related Recipes
📖 Recipe

🥤 Ingredients

Butterscotch Sauce

¼ cup unsalted butter.
¼ cup dark brown sugar. Packed.
½ cup heavy cream.
¼ teaspoon kosher salt.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon Scotch whiskey. Optional. Adds flavor, but definitely not necessary.

Shake

¼ cup milk.
2 cups vanilla ice cream. You can substitute frozen yogurt or a small frozen sliced banana.
2 tablespoons butterscotch sauce. Recipe included.
Whipped cream. Optional.
Butterscotch chips. Chopped. Optional.

📝 Instructions

Butterscotch Sauce

Please see our butterscotch pancakes post for step-by-step photos to assist you in making this sauce.

Step 1. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.

Step 2. Add the brown sugar and stir to combine.

Bring to a boil then reduce to a slow and steady boil and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes.

Step 3. Carefully add the heavy cream and salt. Stir to combine. Bring mixture back to a slow boil. While stirring, cook another 3-4 minutes.

Step 4. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and Scotch, if using.

Step 5. Set aside and allow to cool. Sauce will thicken as it cools.

Shake

Overhead view of all ingredients in a blender — **Step 1.** In a large blender, add all ingredients in this order: milk, ice cream, butterscotch sauce.

Overhead view of blended ingredients in a blender — **Step 2.** Blend until smooth and creamy.

Milkshake being poured into a tall glass — **Step 3.** Pour into a chilled glass and top with whipped cream, chopped butterscotch chips, and extra butterscotch sauce, if desired.

🥄 Equipment

Small saucepan.
Blender.

💡 Variations

Butterscotch Protein Shake. Add 2-3 tablespoons of almond butter to the blender for a natural protein boost. You can also add your favorite protein powder according to the serving size indicated on the package.
Healthier (sort of ) Butterscotch Shake. Substitute frozen yogurt or a sliced frozen banana if you want to make this butterscotch shake without ice cream. You can also sub nut milk for the milk (almond, cashew or walnut milk would be good options).

Butterscotch shake in a tall glass with a white and red straw

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Spoon digging into a milkshake in a tall glass

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Butterscotch Shake

🥤 Ingredients

Butterscotch Sauce

Shake

📝 Instructions

Butterscotch Sauce

Shake

🥄 Equipment

💡 Variations

📖 Recipe